Protect Me
by Lady Shisou
Summary: NaLu Oneshot. Lucy saw it all. She saw the chaos, the deaths, the dragons that crushed everyone and everything like they were ants beneath their feet. And then, she saw Natsu-


Written on impulse. My take on what happened to Future Lucy. :( Her death was saddening, but I think it'll trigger Natsu to finally realise his feelings towards Lucy. Enjoy!

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Lucy could still see it in her mind, even during her last moments.

She could still smell the smoke that had filled the whole space they were in. Her eyes stung, her throat burned. The ground grumbled beneath her, threatening to crumble beneath her feet but she had kept on going. She had no choice but to keep on going. Everyone else was long gone.

When the dragons appeared, they had wreaked total havoc. The whole city that had taken decades to build and flourished for hundreds of years disappeared in an instant. Nothing was left. The dragons crushed its beautiful structures beneath their clawed feet, destroying everything and _everyone_.

Lucy held back a sob.

She saw it all. There were 10000 dragons and only a handful of magic guilds. Everyone knew they were outnumbered. The chances of winning were too slim. Everyone was scared. But no one said anything, sharing silent strength in a moment of need. The civilians had long been evacuated when the battle finally started, with a ferocious roar. After that, chaos descended.

One by one, the mages fell. Lucy had nearly gagged when the metallic smell of blood assaulted her nose. It was everywhere— pooling around dead bodies and spattered against walls like paint. She shielded her eyes when she passed familiar faces, not wanting to replace her last memories of her precious friends with the expressions on their unmoving bodies. At the sight of scarlet hair, Lucy took a shuddering breath and looked away. Hope was beginning to burn away, just like the city.

Some bodies were charred, burnt beyond recognition and Lucy was silently grateful that Natsu was immune to the element. She was searching for him desperately. But it gave her relief that she would not, at least, find him among those burned to death.

It wasn't long before the noise of battle quiet down, cloaking the city in an eerie silence. Lucy strode quickly at the sound of wings flapping and a distant roar. A bloodcurdling scream reached her ears and Lucy gritted her teeth. She had to keep going. She had to look for Natsu.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

The blond perked up at the familiar yell, looking around to locate the source of the voice. Gajeel was still alive! She spotted a group of dragons, ferociously besieging the palace in a distance. Of course, where else would Natsu be? Her feet began to bring her to a run on their own, driven by her need to see Natsu. Where else would her dragon slayer be, if not at the heart of the battle?

She was gasping for breath by the time she reached the palace, her battered body nearing its limit. None of the dragons had noticed her, preoccupied with a merciless battle with the dragon slayers at the tallest tower of the palace. Lucy slipped into the burning palace, dodging falling beams and chandeliers. "Natsu!" she yelled desperately. "Natsu!"

They were going to lose. Lucy could finally accept the cold, hard truth. Too many lives had been lost. What had they been thinking? All this while, they never even had a slight chance of winning. "Natsu!" Lucy yelled again. She wanted to see him. She needed to see him. Lucy climbed higher, nearer to the battle. She could feel the blistering heat on her bruised skin, threatening to burn her but Lucy pressed on. It was a wrong move to allow all the dragon slayers to battle the dragons by themselves. They should have split, making it more difficult for the dragons to target them. They should have attacked in large numbers, instead of one mage to one dragon.

And then she saw him.

Nearly to the topmost floor, lying on his back in a puddle of blood –that foul-smelling liquid—Natsu lay still. She ran to him, dropping to her scratched knees and cradling his head in her arms. Her hope was beginning to diminish. Natsu's skin was clammy and cold. No. Natsu was supposed to be hot and fiery. He was supposed to be running around, not lay unmoving. He was supposed to always have that boyish grin, not that grimace of pain. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Lucy smiled bitterly. She nudged him gently, "Come on Natsu. You shouldn't be sleeping here. You'll catch a nasty cold." He didn't move; Lucy didn't expect him to. The tears weren't stopping.

Something above them groaned, and Lucy knew the building wouldn't hold much longer.

"I'm sorry," she told Natsu softly. "I shouldn't have told you I could manage it on my own. I should've told you to protect me, so you wouldn't leave my side. If I did, you wouldn't be here, alone. You'd still be with me, smiling at me, protecting me." She kissed his forehead tenderly, brushing back his soft pink locks.

"I'm not as strong as you think, Natsu."

Slowly, Lucy bent over him, her head on his chest. Warmth. She pulled back in surprise. Had she just imagined it? Tentatively, she reached a hand to place it over his heart. Warmth. Lucy didn't move as the warmth moved from him, up her arm to settle in a space in her chest, right next to her heart. It loosened the tight grip of fear that bound her, making the blond relax. Natsu will never leave her. She has his warmth.

It was time. Lucy took a moment to compose herself before she got to her feet. From the large hole in the wall, Lucy could see the dragons roaring victoriously over the city. There were no more mages. No one left to fight them. Like Natsu, they had sacrificed themselves for a victory that was impossible to achieve. But they did it anyway.

The celestial spirit mage had long run out of magical power but as she chanted a string of words for a spell that she was not even sure would work, magic picked up at her feet. She could feel it in the wind as it closed her wounds and healed her physical injuries. But they could never repair her heart that had suffered as much as her friends had.

The magic began to take shape, forming an image of a young lady with the saddest eyes that Lucy had ever seen. "You must give up something precious, to receive something precious," it said, stating its price. But Lucy already knew that.

She held out her hand; her right hand. The hand that was stamped proudly with Fairy Tail's insignia. Her only reminder to a past she shared with her friends.

The magic accepted it, ripping her whole arm away and Lucy screamed in agony. A second later, the wound was healed and the arm was gone.

And Lucy, found herself back on the fourth day of the Grand Magic Games.

She had hid and found her past self and Natsu. _Natsu. _The Natsu that she dearly missed, so alive and full of warmth. Her heart warmed when she looked at him, his determined expression. So she soaked in his presence, reveling in his touch when he comforted her. She hand missed him. So much.

It was a surprise to her when she took the blow aimed for her past self. Lucy had returned to her past without a plan. All she knew, was that she needed to protect the future. "Protect the future," she said aloud. _Protect me, Natsu._ He was sometimes a bit slow, but Lucy knew that Natsu understood her words. Now, he would protect his Lucy, the one that was still alive. He would fight for her, stay by her side. Give her his strength. And she would give him hers. They would be unbeatable, stronger than 10000 dragons. Lucy knew, they were going to win this time.

At her last moment, Lucy saw the skies open up and they revealed him. Strong, cheeky, fiery Natsu. He grinned, extending a hand at her. Lucy trembled. She had missed that grin so much. "Hey Lucy!" he said. She missed that cheerful tone too. "Come 'ere. I'll protect you. You won't feel any pain anymore, I won't allow it."

She found herself in his arms. He wasn't cold anymore. He was hot, burning hot. Inhaling his sweet scent, Lucy circled her arms around his waist and hugged back.

"I'm sorry I left you that time," he whispered to her. "I won't do it again. Promise."

Lucy tightened her hold and looked up at him. "You've never left me, Natsu," she told him, feeling the warmth that still beat in rhythm to her own heart. It had kept her company all this while. Soothing her invisible wounds. It gave her courage to live.

Natsu chuckled and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. "Of course I didn't, weirdo. Why would I do that?"

All _will_ be well. Now that she had him.

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Hey guys! :D This is what happens when Hiro Mashima supplies me with lots of Nalu moments in the manga and in the anime. Fangirl mode activated! Anyway, I wrote this quickly, so please excuse some spelling and grammatical errors wherever you may see them. I'm not really happy with how short this ficlet is, I think it needs more description. I dunno, so leave me a review on the way out. :D it'll make me a happy kitty.


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